Outcast
by LoveForNaught
Summary: Alice Stronghold is in her Junior year at Sky High. No one really knows much about her, except for Warren, who she is tutoring in Science........UPDATE! Chapter 13 is now up! Only 3 more chapters left of the story!
1. Monday Mornings

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sky High Characters, or anything relating to the movie in this story. The only things that are my own are a few characters, and some of the story line.

Ok, this is my first ever fan fiction that I have posted online. Please give me some feedback about it, but be nice. Again, first time, I'm new at this…….Let the story begin!

Alice Stronghold was a junior at Sky High. _Time for another year,_ She thought. _At least I'll be out of the house. _She was sitting at the table eating her breakfast of toast and orange juice. "Are you sure you don't want anything else?" asked her mother. "You want to have plenty of energy for your first day back.

"I'm fine." She said as she poked at her toast. Her brunet hair lay gently on her shoulders. She never did anything more than let it hang. She hated the thought of having to spend more time than she had to in front of a mirror. She winced as a loud bang came from upstairs. "God, can we go one day without dad or Will breaking anything?" She picked up her bag and headed for the door.

"Have a nice day sweetie!" called her mom after her. She let the door slam behind her. It's not that she doesn't like her mother; it was her father that she wasn't too fond of. This morning hadn't helped things much either. Her father hadn't even acknowledged her. It's like she never existed. But then again, when did he not act that way. At least not around his son. She cringed at the thought, but it quickly left her as she stood at the stop, waiting for the bus.

"Hey!" called will, walking up to her with his friend Layla. "Why didn't you wait for us?"

"You were too slow." She replied.

"Something wrong sis?"

"There won't be as long as you stay away from me on school grounds."

"What?"

"You herd me. You don't talk to me, you don't look at me, and most of all, you don't relate yourself to me. I have everyone convinced that my last name is Smith. You will not go and ruin my hard work of staying unnoticed at school, got it?"

Both of the freshman looked at her with a sort of fear as the nodded.

"Good." She turned back to the road. "Perfect, here comes the bus."

So there you go! That's all for now. Tell me what you think so far. This one was pretty short, I know but the later ones will be longer.

Next time: The first day!


	2. The First Day

**Hello again! I'm glad that everyone likes the story so far. I would like to talk about Alice for a minute though, epically since no one knows any of her powers or anything.**

**Alice is 17 years old, and is a Junior at Sky High. She is telekinetic (she can lift things with her mind, she can read minds, and can speak to people in their head.) She's only mastered the lifting of objects so far, but she is working on the mind control stuff. Her parents are the Commander and Jetstream. She loves her mother….sort of…but she's not to fond of her father. Well, that's probably because ever since her brother was born, he's gotten all the attention. She's not much of a people person, and the only friends she ever had, was killed in a car accident when she was very young. Her friend, was the older sister of Layla. **

**That's about all I'll say for now. There is a bit more, but you'll find that out in later chapters.**

**Let the story continue!**

Alice got off the bus and headed for the school. She could hear all the new freshman's excitement about the bus ride. As she was walking up the stairs, she herd the commotion turn from excitement to fear. She turned to see Speed wrangling up the freshman. She shuck her head, and headed for her locker. As she was walking, she could hear all the commotion of the school around her. She had forgotten how much of a headache school gave her. She arrived at her locker and pulled out her science. She had physics first this morning. She jumped when she closed her locker door to find Speed standing behind it.

"Morning sunshine." He said with a smirk. She turned the other way, only to be cut off by Lash. "Where ya going sugar?" he called from behind her. Lash made a kissy face at her. She turned to lean her back against the locker.

"Don't you two have some swirlies to hand out?" she said hoping that the two of them would leave her alone.

"Aw. Is little miss bookwork in a bad mood?" Speed asked putting his hand next to her head on the lockers.

Lash reached out his hand, and lifted her chin. "I bet you would look even prettier if you gave us a smile."

"Oh really?" she said. She raised both of her hands, and as she did, the two boys lifted off the ground. Looks of shock quickly appeared on the faces of the both of them. "Alright, now that I am in control, we can talk." The two of them were now pinned against the lockers on the other side of the room. "Here is how this year is going to happen. Neither of you are going to come near me, got that?" the both of them nodded. "AND, if I hear any more of those little rumors you two like to spread so much, you **will** regret it!" She put her hands down, and the two boys slammed down to the ground. "Have a nice day." She said with a sarcastic smile. She turned and walked off to her class.

She arrived to her class just in time for the bell to ring. "So nice of you to join us Miss. Smith." It was her physics teacher, Mr. Medulla. He was taking roll in the front of the class.

"I try." She replied as she went to her usual seat in the back. She opened her bag and took out her notebook and a pen.

"Now that everyone is here, we can get started." Mr. Medulla started his lecture on gravity. _What an annoying voice to have to listen to all day. _She thought. She opened up her notebook to a new page, and started to sketch. She loved to draw pictures, especially sceneries. She started sketching a red paper lantern, with a golden flower on it. She had seen it outside one of her favorite restaurants, which by coincidence, is called the Paper Lantern.

The bell rang, and class was over. _Thank god. _She thought. _Time for a nice quiet lunch. _She grabbed her stuff, and left for the cafeteria. She found her usual table, and sat down to eat her bagged lunch. She didn't eat much at lunch, she just saw it as a place for her to draw without being bothered by teachers. Not like the teachers bothered her much anyway. They all knew she was an A student, and that she didn't like to be bothered.

Lunch was over and she got up to go to her next class. She was walking to Math, when she as stopped by Principal Powers. "Good afternoon Alice. I assume your day is going well."

"Yes maim." She replied, forcing a smile. She didn't like talking to Principal Powers, usually because it lead to her having to help out around the school somehow. "What can I do for you today?" She asked, almost though her teeth.

"I was wondering if you would be interested in being a tutor for a fellow student."

"I don't get along with my classmates to well." She turned to walk away, but Powers cut her off.

"Please? No one else will do it."

"Oh! So I'm just your last resort. Not interested." She turned again, and started down the hallway.

"You'll get to miss you Physics class!" she called after Alice. She paused and thought about it.

"And I'll still maintain my 4.0?" She said, not turning to face the principal yet.

"Of course. We can't have our top student fall behind. So, do we have a deal?" She said. The bell rang and the hallways cleared out.

"Depends, you going to write me a pass to math?" The principal smiled and walked her to class. "He'll meet you in the library tomorrow."

Later that night, at dinner, the hot topic of the night was Will's first day of school. _I could just disappear, and they wouldn't even notice. _She thought to herself. She poked at her last piece of broccoli that remained on her plate.

"It's so wonderful that your finally in school now!" her father kept chanting. "The next Commander! That's what you'll be. Your following in my footsteps wonderfully." She could see her mom was about done with her father's gloating.

"How was you day dear? Anything new happen?" she asked Alice.

"I get to be a tutor."

"That's wonderful!" said her mother. "Isn't that great Steve?"

"Yeah yeah. Great news." He said sort of blowing it off. "So tell me about the sorting son! How'd that go?"

"I'm going to bed." Said Alice, grabbing her bag from the front hall. She could her her father's floating the while way.

**Well, that's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it! Please R&R!**

**Next Chapter: The Tutoring Session **


	3. The Tutoring Session

**Hello everyone! Sorry it's taken me so long to write a new chapter. I fell way behind in my school work. I'm home sick today so I thought I would write the next chapter while I have some time. I hope you enjoy it!**

The next day at school, Alice was not thrilled about the tutoring session. _Who could this kid be?_ She asked herself, pulling out her books. _This kid has to be pretty bad since no one else will tutor him._ She closed her locker and turned for the library.

When she entered the library it was extremely quiet. Not like it was ever loud. No one really liked to go there. She sat down at an empty table and pulled out her science book. Her teacher had decided to let her miss class as long as she went to him for her missed work everyday. She started to read the chapter that her teacher had assigned her. About 5 minutes into reading, her light was blocked by a shadow. She looked up to see Warren Peace standing over her.

"Are you here for tutoring?" she asked him. She was a bit annoyed at him. She didn't like it when people were late

"Unfortunately." He said, taking the seat across from her. "Let's get this over with." He said pulling out his notebook.

"Ok." She said "What do you need help understanding?" she asked him as she flipped through the pages of her science book.

"Everything." He said.

"Ok." She said. _This is going to be a long day._ She thought to herself. "Let's start with chemistry. What can you tell me about significant figures?"

""They're significant." He said with a wise ass tone.

She sighed and started to explain to him what significant figures were, and how to find them. It took the whole hour session, but by the end of it, she had faith that he understood what they had talked about that day. "I think that's enough for today." She said closing her book. "We don't want to go overboard on our first day." The bell rang. It was time for lunch. "I'll see you same time tomorrow."

"Whatever." He said. He grabbed his stuff and left. _He's a regular prince charming._ She thought to herself. She put her notebook into her bag, and left for her locker. She had just retrieved her lunch from her locker, when she heard a commotion coming from the cafeteria. She shoved her way through the crowd and was shocked at what she saw. Will had decided to pick a bone with Warren. _You're such an idiot Will._ She thought to herself.

A few seconds later, the principal came in a broke up the fight. Alice couldn't help but laugh as she watched her brother get dragged out by his ear. The crowd died down, and Alice found an empty table to eat lunch at.

Her afternoon classed seemed to pass her by quickly. The bus ride wasn't as bad today either. She watched as the bus sped away after dropping off her and Will. "You're in trouble." She said in a teasing voice. Seeing her brother miserable was amusing to her.

"Why should you care?" he said walking up the steps to their house. "You're not even related to me. Remember?" They were greeted at the door by their parents, whom both had upset expressions on their face.

"Go upstairs Alice." Her father said to her. She gave her brother an evil smirk as she left to go upstairs. As soon as she had closed her door, she could hear the voices of her upset parents. _I'm glad I didn't piss them off._ She thought to herself. The voices died down below her, and there came a knock on her door.

"Can I come in sweetie?" It was her mother.

"Sure." She said. She was not on her bed, with her class books open. "What's up?" she asked her mom as she entered the room.

"How did your tutoring session go?" her mother asked sitting on the corner of her bed.

"Eh. It was ok. Neither of us really want to be there….and I think we might have to meet more that just during science." She shuddered at the thought of having to meet with him outside of school as well as during class.

"They'll get better." Her mother told her. "Who knows? Maybe the two of you will become friends!"

Alice gave her mom the yeah right glare. "Sure mom. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of studying to do." She looked back down at her books and began to read a bit more. Her mother got up and left for the door. Alice watched as she left. She could sense that her mother knew something that she didn't. She wasn't too worried about it now though. She went back to her books, and worked on getting her homework finished.

**Well that's all for now folks! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Please R&R!**

**Next Chapter: A Broken Home**


	4. A Broken Home

**Hello there! It's me again. After the great response from my first three chapters, I have decided to focus more on this story than my other one for the moment. This means more chapters faster for you all. YAY! Well, enjoy the story!**

A month went by, and the tutoring sessions seemed to be going better. Well, sort of. They weren't as uncomfortable with each other as they were before. Warren seemed to have less of an attitude than he did a month ago when the sessions first started. He seemed to be catching on to a lot of the different theories as well.

The tutoring sessions seemed to be second nature to Alice as well. She didn't worry about it as much as she used to. In fact, she didn't think about it outside of school at all. _I wonder what mom is making for dinner…_ She though to herself as she walked home. She seemed more care free now that school had gotten more involved. She was, for the first time, involved in an after school activity that she enjoyed. She had discovered the school newspaper. A place where people actually liked her writing style instead of calling her a freak for it. She opened the door to her home and went onto the kitchen. Her dad was waiting there.

"You're home late." He said to her. "Any reason why?" he seemed to be upset. She couldn't imagine why.

"Yeah." She said, getting a water out of the refrigerator. "I stayed after for the newspaper. I told you that this morning." _Not like I expected you to notice _She thought to herself.

"Newspaper?" he said. "How is that going to help you in the real world? You're a hero Alice, not a reporter. People are supposed to write stories about you." He seemed really pissed at this point.

"What's wrong with newspaper? It's something that I enjoy! And since when do you care about what I do with my time?" she was starting to get really annoyed with her father.

"No child of mine will be on a newspaper! Why can't you be more like Will? He's popular! He's a great hero and would never do something like newspaper."

Alice was about to burst. She didn't care if her brother was going to get in trouble, "HE'S NOT A HERO!"

Her father just stared at her for a moment. "What in the world are you talking about?" he asked in disbelief. "Of course he's a hero."

"No dad, he's not. Will doesn't have his powers. They put him in with the side-kicks. All those friends he brings home are other side-kicks that he hangs out with. You're so bent out of shape about him being the next big hero that you can't even see the truth." The room was silent for a moment. She could see her father getting more and more upset. The next thing she knew, Alice felt a sharp pain across her face. Her father had smacked her across the face. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized what had just happened. She put her hand on her cheek.

"Don't you ever talk bad about your brother again." He said.

Alice shook her head in disbelief. "I hate you." She said, the dropped her water, spilling it on the floor, and ran out the door. She ran. She didn't know where she was going, she just had to run. She eventually came to a small park. She stopped there, grabbling hold of a tree so that she didn't collapse onto the ground. It had gotten dark out. She turned so that her back was against the tree, and she slid down the trunk, sitting on the cold ground. The tears kept streaming down her face. She just wanted to disappear. She hated her father for what he said to her, she hated her brother because her parents favored him, and she hated her mother for not saying anything to her father all these years. She sat there in the dark, hoping that everything would just go away…..

**Yay! Another chapter is done. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I am hoping to get the next one up within the next 24 hours while I still have the mood set in my head. Please R & R!**

**The next chapter: I'll Shield You from the Rain**


	5. I'll Sheild You from the Rain

**Hello again! I got the next chapter up! I hope you enjoy it. This is only a few hours after the last chapter. It's not that long, but it gets the point across.**

There was a loud bang of thunder, and it started to rain. Alice could feel the water fall on her, soaking through her clothing. She curled her knees up to her chest, and leaned her head back against the tree trunk. She was cold, and tired. She didn't think that she could cry anymore, even if she wanted to. She could hear the worker from the paper lantern close up the restaurant. She sat there, hoping that she would not be noticed. All of them seemed to go in other directions, except for one. There was a figure with an umbrella walking towards the park. _Please don't notice me _she thought to herselfShe really didn't want to be bothered by anyone right now. She put her head down as the figure grew closer to her. She herd the footsteps stop near her. "Alice?" asked a familiar voice.

She looked up to see Warren looking down at her. "Warren? What are you doing here?" she asked as he bent down to her level.

"I work across the street. I come this way to get home." He looked at her for a moment. He could tell that she had been crying. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine." She said. "I like to hang out in the rain." She was trying to hide how upset she was.

"Don't bullshit me." He said taking off his coat. "You look like hell." He went to go put his coat around her and he saw her cheek. There was a bruise on it. He touched it, and she flinched at the pain. "Did someone hit you?" he asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." She said. She pulled on the sides of the coat, wrapping it around her. The warmth of it helped her feel a little better.

"Well, your going to get sick if you stay out here." He moved her hair back with his hand, "Not to mention that you should probably have that looked at. You might have broken your cheek bone."

"I don't want to go home." She said, looking away from him. She hated the fact that he was seeing her like this.

Warren stood up and held out his free hand. "Come with me then. No one should be left out in the rain."

**There we go! I hope you liked it. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Please R&R!**

**The next chapter: A New Flame**


	6. A New Flame

**Hello again! I got a great response form the two chapters that I posted yesterday. In fact, the story has had over 1000 hits! happy dance Wahoo! **

**Anyways, here's the next chapter. It's just another small one. I think the next one will be longer though. I hope you enjoy this one. **

Alice found her self in a small, yet cozy room. There wasn't much in the room. Just a couch, a coffee table, a book shelf and a fire place. Alice listened as the fire crackled. It felt nice to be inside near a fire after being out in the cold for so long. She was sitting on the floor between the fireplace and the coffee table. She had borrowed some pajamas from Warren's mom.

Warren came back into the room with an ice pack in hand. "Here." He said, handing the ice pack to Alice. "This should help the swelling go down."

"Thank you." She said. She flinched as she put it on her bruise. It still hurt a lot. Warren sat down next to her. He gently moved her chin to the side so that he could see her cheek.

"It doesn't look broken." He said, "But I still think you should have it looked at." He let go of her chin and Alice put the ice back on it.

"I don't like doctors. I'll be fine." She said. She didn't want to have to explain what had happened to a doctor. No one would believe her anyways.

"You want to tell me how that happened?" he asked. He was concerned about her. She paused for a moment, but then decided to tell him what had happened. After all, he had taken her in. She explained to him about how her father favors her brother, and wanted everything to be perfect. She didn't use names though. She didn't want Warren to know ho her father was.

There was a pause after she had finished telling her story. "Wow." Said Warren "And I thought I had problems with my dad."

"Yeah." She said "I herd about your father. That must be hard on you."

"I guess." He said. "I mean, he's my father and everything, but even if he was here, I would never see him. Between school and work, I'm only home to sleep. My mother is always going away so I don't see her much either."

There was a pause as the clock started to chime. Alice looked at the old clock hanging on the wall. It was 1 am. "I think we aught to head to bed." Said Warren as he stood up "We have school in the morning. You can sleep on the couch."

"Thank you." Said Alice "For everything."

"No problem." Said Warren "Get some sleep. I'll wake you in the morning." Alice listened as Warren went up the stairs to his room. She went over to the couch. There was a pillow and a blanket there. She set herself up on the couch and lay down. She fell asleep watching the fire burn out in front of her.

**Hey! It's me again. I hope you enjoyed this one. The next chapter should be a bit longer. Please R&R!**

**The next chapter: (TBA)**


	7. The Morning After

**Hey there everyone! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while….a lot has been going on lately and I've had very little time to do anything. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll try and post more often. Summer vacation starts soon so I should have more free time…..**

"Daddy! Daddy! Look what I did!" called a child's voice. A small girl ran up to the house. She couldn't have been more than 10 years old. Her brown hair was pulled back by two hair clips, and her green eyes shone brightly in the summer sun. The young girl ran into the house in search of her father. "Daddy! Daddy!" she yelled as she ran up the stairs to her parent's room. She opened the door and found her father and younger brother sitting on the bed reading a book. "Daddy!"

"SHHH!" her father hushed her. "Your brother is reading a book by himself for the first time."

"But daddy!" said the little girl "I got my powers today! See? Look what I can do!" The little girl raised her arms and the book her brother was reading lifted off of his lap into the air. The boy started to cry as the book stayed in the air.

"Alice why did you do that? Now you have him all upset!" the father grabbed the book from the air and tried to calm down the crying boy. "Why don't you go outside and play?" he said in an aggravated tone.

The little girl, almost in tears, ran off into her room. She flung herself onto her bed and started to cry. "Why won't he pay attention to me anymore?" she said. She lay there on her bed crying, and staring at a picture of her and her father that sat on the bedside table.



Alice awoke to the sound of Warren's voice. "Alice? Alice wake up." She moaned as she sat up. She felt like she had been hit by a truck, and her face was throbbing. She opened her eyes. It was still dark out.

"What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"It's about 5." He said. "You had mentioned that you wanted to get some clothing from your house before school. I wanted you to have enough time." He touched her chin and moved her head so he could look at her cheek again. "How's that feeling? It looks pretty painful."

"It feels very painful." Said Alice. She yawned and ran her hand through her hair. "I guess I should head over before anyone gets up."

Warren let go of her chin. "You know you're going to have to go back sometime." He said.

"I know. But I don't think I could handle it this early in the morning." She said as she stood up. She went over to the fireplace and picked up her clothing from the night before.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No!" she said a little suddenly. "I mean I'm just getting some clothing and my school supplies. Nothing big. I'll see you in school later." She said. She didn't want Warren to find out who her family was. "Thanks again." She said, turning to him before she left.

"It's no problem." He said. "Be careful."

"I will be." She said, and she left for her house.



It took Alice about a half hour to get to her house. That left her with an hour before her parents got up. She went around the side of the house to where the window to her room was. She climbed up the side of the house, very quietly, and went though the window to her room. She quietly closed the window and went to work getting what she needed.

She got dressed, hading the pajamas from Warren's in her closet. She grabbed her backpack, and packed an extra set of clothing in it. She wanted to keep some clothing in her locker in case something like this happened again. She grabbed her school supplies, and went into her dresser to get some of her money. She swung her bag over her shoulder and went back for the window. She climbed down the see of the house and went back towards the park. She would get on the bus there today.



Alice felt relieved to be at school. It would be something to keep her occupied for the day. She was at her locker, getting out her science book when she herd a familiar voice behind her. "Hey there sunshine."

Alice turned around to find Speed standing behind her. She leaned against her locker and rolled her eyes. "What do you want Speed?"

"Can't an old friend say hi?" he said with a wise tone. She turned to leave him, but Lash got in her way.

"Move it stretch I'm not in the mood." She said giving him a dirty look.

"What happened to your face?" asked Speed, nodding towards the bruise on her cheek.

"It's none of your business now let me pass."

"Or what?" said Speed, getting closer to Alice.

"Or you have to deal with me." Said a voice from behind Speed. He turned around to find Warren standing there. "Leave her alone."

"Ah come on Peace we were just having some fun." Speed said giving him a small punch in the shoulder. Warren looked at his shoulder where he was hit, and then he looked back at Speed. Speed realized that Warren wasn't joking. "Come on Lash let's get outta here." The two goons left down the hall.

"Are you ok?" asked Warren

"I'm fine." Said Alice, closing her locker. "It's not the first time I've had to deal with those losers." The ball rang, and Alice noticed they were the only ones left in the hallway. "Come on. Let's head to the library." She said. She turned and started to walk towards the library, will Warren at her side.

**That's all for now. I know it doesn't really explain a lot of the thing that people are asking about, but the next chapter will finish answering most of those questions. I can only write so much at once. I'll try and get the next chapter up within the next few days….**

**The Next Chapter: Battle in the Cafiteria**


	8. Fight in the Cafeteria

**Hello again! I'm glad that you're all enjoying my story so much! The last chapter seemed to really bring in some positive reviews. I hope that everyone keeps up with the story!**

Alice was enjoying a nice quiet lunch outside today. It was sunny, and it was a lot quieter than sitting in the cafeteria. She leaned up against the side of the front steps, eating a sandwich. Unfortunately, she wouldn't stay relaxed for long.

"There's a fight in the cafeteria!" cried one of the freshmen, running into the school. "Will's in a fight with Warren!" called another.

Alice almost choked as she heard those words. She managed to swallow the food that was in her mouth, and then she got up and ran for the cafeteria. _Stupid Will!_ She thought to herself on the way there.

She arrived at the cafeteria to find a crowd around the entrance. She managed to shove her way through the crowd to see what was going on. She watched as her brother climbed under one of the tables.

"Come on Warren, can't we talk about this?" said Will, trying to hide from him. Alice watched Warren as he tried to get her brother with his flames. _Get out of there Will before you get killed!_ She thought to herself. She watched Will crawl up and down the underneath of the table trying to avoid Warren. Suddenly, Will stood up, and with him, came the table. Alice was amazed. Will had gotten his powers. He had super strength. Warren was trying to keep balanced on the table while Will tried to make sense of the situation. Alice was trying to see what would happen next, when she was pulled out of the way by the principle. The crowd watched as the principal broke up the fight, and took the two boys to her office.

It was not long after that the crowd had broken up, and everyone was back to eating their lunch. Alice was back outside where she had left her lunch. She was trying to enjoy the rest of her lunch when she was interrupted by Will's friend Layla.

"Did you see that? Will got his powers!" she seemed excited about the whole thing.

"Yeah. I'm sure my father will be really excited about this." She said with an annoyed tone.

"Epically after how upset with will he was the other night. When he found out that Will was a sidekick and not a hero, he lost it. He was upset the whole night."

"So that's why he was in such a foul mood…" Alice said to herself.

The sound of the school bell rang, and it was time for classes again. "I'll see ya!" call Layla, running into the school building. Alice gathered up her books, still thinking about what Layla had told her. She walked in to the school and headed off to class.



Alice stepped on to the bus and took her usual seat in the front of the bus. She looked out the window and watched the other kids get on the bus. She didn't want to go home, but she knew that she had to.

She watched as Warren got on the bus, but instead of him going to his usual seat, he sat next to her. "Nice show today." She commented to him as he placed his bag under the seat.

He let out a small laugh and shook his head. "Hey. Hey started it." He looked at her with come concern. "You heading home today?" she nodded in response "You going to be ok?"

"Yeah." She said. "I think I know why he was so upset the other night. I'll go home, my mom will be all relieved, and my father will be mad. He'll say that my brother never acts like that and then he'll forget all about it." She said as the bars come down on their lap. The bus ride had grown less exciting since her freshman year.

"Well if you need a place to stay again, you know where I live."

"I don't want to be a nuisance." She said.

"I would rather have you be a nuisance than be out on the streets." She said. The bus landed and Warren got off the bus. Alice sat waiting for the bus to reach her house.



Alice was greeted at the door by her mother. "Alice! You're alright!" she said, giving her daughter a big hug. "I was so worried!" she let Alice out of the hug and looked at her face. "What happened to you?" she asked, touching the bruise on Alice's face.

"It's nothing." She said. "I just slipped when I was out in the rain." Alice didn't want to tell her mom for two reasons. First, because she would never believe her, and second, if her mom did believer her, she didn't want to hurt her like that.

"Where on earth did you stay?"

"I stayed at a friend's house."

"A friend's house?" her mother asked a little suspiciously "What friend? Have we met this friend?"

"A friend from newspaper." She said. She hoped that her mom wouldn't pry more.

Her mom gave her a look. "Ok, just make sure you don't do it again." She gave Alice a hug and turned to Will. "And you young man, are in some major trouble." Alice stood and watched her brother get chewed out by their mother. "Go see your father." She said to Will, "He would like to speak with you. He's in his office." She said pointing down the hall.

Alice picked up her bag, and headed for the stairs. "I'll be doing my homework mom." She called, as she went up to her bedroom. She was glad that her mother didn't interrogate her more…and at the same time she wondered why her mom didn't interrogate her more. She wasn't going to worry about that now though.

**Hello again! I hope that answered a few questions of yours. I know there are still questions about the dad, and now probably some about the mom, but don't worry, by the end of the story, all of the questions will be answered. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please R&R!**

**The Next Chapter: The Truth**


	9. The Truth

**Hey there everyone! I'm glad that you're all enjoying the story so far! For those of you who are asking how long the story is going to be, right now it's about half way through. (At least that's what I'm thinking at this point) I know that a lot of you still have questions, but don't worry! They will all be answered eventually. If there were no questions at the end of the chapter do you think as many people would come back? **

**Well I hope you enjoy this chapter. It should be a popular one!**

The next month of school seemed to fly by. October passed, along with Halloween, and a few other fun days at school. The school paper had never been as popular. Alice was really bringing out the best in the paper, and Warren was starting to understand more science

Alice was sitting in the newspaper classroom when the new announcements came over the intercom. "Good afternoon students." Rang out the voice of the principal. "We have a few new announcements this afternoon. First of all, there is a new issue of the paper out. You can pick up your copy in the cafeteria." Alice smiled with pride as she made that announcement. She had written a lot of this issue's articles and couldn't wait to see the response. "Remember to bring in your cans for the food shelter. We are helping to sponsor a great thanksgiving this month for those who are less fortunate." Alice kept typing her article for the new issue on her computer. "And finally, there will be a formal homecoming dance this month. All are welcome. We hope to see you all there!" the announcements finished and Alice saved her work.

Alice picked up her bag, and headed out for her locker. _No way they would catch me at that kind of event. _She thought to herself, looking at the new homecoming posters in the hallway. She made it to her locker and started to change her books. She closed her locker and went out to the front. The busses wouldn't be there for another 20 minutes, so she decided to sit under one of the trees and read. She was soon joined by Warren, who was also out early. "Hey" he said, sitting down next to Alice. "How was your afternoon?"

"It was ok." She said. She put down her book and saw Layla coming towards her. _Oh no._ she thought to herself. She stood up as Layla reached her.

"You seriously need to talk to Will. He is out of control! He's going around hanging out with all the heroes, and he won't even acknowledge his real friends anymore." Layla said freaking out.

"Why should I have anything to do with it! He's not my problem!" argued Alice. Warren stood up and listened to the argument the two were having.

"Because he's YOUR BROTHER!" There was a few seconds of silence before anyone spoke.

"What are you talking about?" asked Warren, a bit unsure of the situation.

"What is there not to get? Alice and Will are siblings. You know, they come from the same parents." Layla, realizing what she had said, covered her mouth, and started to back up. "I'm sorry" She said from under her hands, and ran off.

Warren turned to Alice "You're related to Will? Will Stronghold?" He was looking at her with a hateful look that pierced right through her. She nodded. She didn't know what to say to him. "Wha…wha….Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want you to hate me." Alice said. "I hate being who I am. I hate my family, and I wish I was never born into that family." She was to the point where she was about to cry. She didn't want Warren to know, she didn't want anyone to know. "Warren…" she said, reaching her hand out to him. He slapped it away.

"Don't touch me." He said. "I trusted you. I can't believe that you would lie to me like that." Warren picked up his bag and started for the busses. Alice watched as he walked away from her. She couldn't believe that this was happening. She grabbed her bag, and wiped a tear from her cheek. She headed for the bus, and sat by herself, in silence the whole way home. When she arrived at her house, she went right up to her room, and she didn't come out the whole night.

**Well there you go! Her identity has been revealed! suspenseful music I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to write the next one soon!**

**The next Chapter: Two Dates, and a Party**


	10. 3 Dates and a Party

**Hello again everyone! I'm glad you all like the story so much! Here's the 10th chapter. There was a change in the title. I forgot about one of the dates. This one is my longest chapters I have written so far. I hope you like it.**

Alice returned to school, unsure what to expect. She felt numb as she walked the halls of the high school. She didn't want to be there. She wanted to barricade herself into her room and never leave again. She retrieved her books from her locker, and went to the library. She sat in the spot where she and Warren usually studied, but there was no sign of him. She waited, and waited, and waited, but Warren never showed up for the session. The lunch bell rang, and she went outside to eat her lunch.

As she walked down the front steps to get to the lawn, she saw Warren, but he wasn't by himself. Layla was hanging on his arm. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She felt like crying. Warren looked over to where Alice was. He was about to say something, but Alice didn't see. She was already heading back into the school.

Alice ran into the bathroom, and locked herself into the stall. She leaned against the cold wall of the bathroom as tears ran down her cheek. She slid down the wall so she was sitting on the ground, and she cried her eyes out. _I hate him._ She thought to herself. _How could he do something like this? _She spent the rest of her lunch, and one of her classes in the empty bathroom.

Alice returned home late that day. She had walked around town, hoping from something to distract her. She entered the house to find Will studying in the dining room with Gwen Grayson. They didn't even see Alice as she went up stairs to her room. She heard them talking downstairs. "So Will." She herd Gwen say. "Are you going to Homecoming with anyone?"

"Well," she heard her brother respond. "I was sort of hoping you would go with me." Alice rolled her eyes as she went into her room. She opened the shade to her room to find that it had started to rain out. _Great_ she thought _weather to match my mood. _

Alice turned on the radio, hoping some music might lift her spirits. A very quiet song was on. She listened at the words played out of her speakers.

_Take a photograph,   
It'll be the last,  
Not a dollar or a crowd could ever keep me here,_

Only a few blocks away, Warren sat up in his bed listening to the same song. _Why do I keep thinking about her?_ He asked himself. He too listened to the lyrics of the song on the radio.

_I don't have a past   
I just have a chance,  
Not a family or honest plea remains to say,_

Alice started to cry alone in her room

_Rain rain go away,   
Come again another day,  
All the world is waiting for the sun._

Warren put his head into his hands. He felt bad about what he had said to her.

_Is it you I want,   
Or just the notion  
Of a heart to wrap around so I can find my way around_

Alice looked over in the corner of her room. The pajamas from Warren's house were still there in a heap. She thought about the night that she had spent at his house.

_Safe to say from here,  
Your getting closer now,  
We are never sad cause we are not allowed to be_

The both of them lay down in their own beds, hoping that some sleep might put their minds at ease.

_Rain rain go away,   
Come again another day,  
All the world is waiting for the sun. _

Rain rain go away,  
Come again another day,  
All the world is waiting for the sun.

The both of them looked out their windows, wondering what the other one was doing right then.

_To lie here under you,  
Is all that I could ever do,  
To lie here under you is all,  
To lie here under you is all that i could ever do,  
To lie here under you is all,_

Rain rain go away,  
Come again another day,  
All the world is waiting for the sun.

Rain rain go away,  
Come again another day,  
All the world is waiting for the sun,  
All the world is waiting for the sun,  
All the world is waiting for the sun.



Alice arrived at school the next day, not knowing what to expect. She got off of the bus and went to her locker to get her books.

Meanwhile, Warren was having a talk with Layla. "I don't think this little plan is going to work out." He told her.

"What?" she said. "But I thought you wanted to get back at Will!"

"I do, but this is not the way to do it." Warren swung his bag over his shoulder and turned to go inside. "You love him Layla. I can tell by the way you talk about him. Go talk to him. Maybe you two can straighten things out together." He walked away, leaving Layla speechless.

Alice closed her locker door to find Warren standing behind it. "hi." She said, trying to avoid eye contact with Warren.

"Hey." He said, leaning against the locker. They both stood there in silence for a second. Neither of them knew what to say. After a second, Warren started to speak. "Look, Alice, I'm sorry for the way I acted the other day. I was vary…" he paused, trying to think of a good way to put it.

"Stupid? Dim-Witted? Nasty? Mean?" She said, naming off a few ways to put it.

"Ouch." He said. "But yeah."

Alice sighed and leaned her back up against the lockers. She looked at the floor. "No. It's not your fault. I should have told you. I just…didn't want you to hate me…"

"Don't worry about it." He said. "I probably would have done the same thing." He smiled and lifted her chin so that she was looking at him. "Are we ok?" he asked.

She smiled back at him. "Yeah." The bell rang for first class. 'Come on." She said. "We're a day behind on your studies."

"Great." He said sarcastically, following Alice to the Library.



Everything seemed to be getting back to normal in Alice's life. The Friday of that week, she went over to Warren's house so that they could work on a science project together. The two of them sat on the rug in front of the fireplace. They had about 4 books spread out around them, along with a bowl of popcorn, and some cans of soda.

The two of them laughed over something that happened in the cafeteria that day. "We really need to get back to work." She said, trying to calm down. She picked up one of the open books from the floor and put it in her lap so she could read it. She had been reading for only seconds when she felt a piece of popcorn hit her head. She looked up and saw Warren looking in a book like nothing happened. She smiled and looked back down at her book. Out of the corner of her eye, se saw Warren pick up a piece of popcorn. She stopped it mid-flight with her powers.

"Hey!" he said. "No fair using powers!" he said, throwing a handful of popcorn at her.

"What are you going to do about it?" she said, throwing some of the popcorn that had fallen on the floor.

"This!" he said, tickling her. The book that was sitting on her lap fell onto the ground. Alice was laughing so hard that she ended up falling back onto the ground, Warren following closely behind. Warren stopped tickling her so that he could hold himself up. Alice stopped laughing and looked up at Warren. Warren brushed Alice's hair out of her face. He gently leaned over and gave her a kiss.

Alice felt as though she could fly. Warren pulled away, and they just looked at each other for a moment. The silence was suddenly broken by the chiming of a clock. Alice turned her head towards the clock. It was 6. "I have to go." She said, turning back to Warren.

He nodded and helped her up. "Do you want me to walk you home?" he asked.

"No thanks." She said, getting her books. "I'll be ok. I'm a tough girl." She said giving him a small punch in the arm. She walked with him to the door. "Well, goodnight." She said, opening the door.

"Goodnight." Said Warren. "Be careful."

"I will." She said.

The whole way home she felt as though she was walking on air. Nothing could ruin her night. Well, at least nothing on the way home could…

Alice arrived home to find a party going on. There were cars everywhere, Streamers all over the yard, and loud music coming from inside the house. "Will you didn't." she said to herself as she headed into the mess of a house.

**Hey everyone! I hope you liked it! In case you were wondering, the song from the chapter is Rain by Breaking Benjamin. It's a really good song, and I think I might use another song by the band in a later chapter. Be sure to check them out! **

**Well school gets out tomorrow, so I'll be posting a lot more often. The story should be done within the next month or so. Please R&R!**

**Also: If you would like to contact me about this story, or you are interested in reading some of my other work, please e-mail me hope to hear from some of you!**

**The Next Chapter: TBA**


	11. Romeo and Juliet

**Hello everyone! I'm sorry that it has been so long since I have updated. A lot happened over the summer that prevented me from writing. I'm back in school now though and I have a ton of free time on the computer. **

**I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. It took me a while to write it. I'm a little uncomfortable with some spots in the story, but I think you'll like it. **

As Alice tried to get to the house to see what was going on, a wave of people came running out of the house. It took almost all of her strength for her to keep from getting pushed back with the crowd. Everyone was running to their cars, or down the road.

Seconds later, everyone was gone. Alice stood in the front yard of the house, wondering what had happened. _Oh crap!_ She thought to herself. She ran up the front steps, and into the house. The inside was just as trashed as the outside of the house. "Will?" she called "Will where are you?"

"We're in here!" called a very angry voice from the dinning room. Alice entered the room to find her parents and Will standing around the trashed table. "And where were you while this little party was happening?" Her father asked.

"I was working on a project at my science partner's house." She said. "It's due in two days and we wanted to make sure we were ready." She tossed her bag down on the floor with a loud thud to show that it was full of books from the library.

"You had no idea this was happening?" Her mother asked her very calmly. She was rubbing her temples, trying to not get stressed out about this whole matter.

Alice shook her head "No. I hadn't been home yet, and there was nothing at school about it."

"Well then," her father started, "Alice, go up to your room and finish your homework. We need to make sure we stay out of Will's way while he cleans the whole house." He gave Will an evil eye. Alice grabbed her bag and decided to go up to her room before her father decided that she needed to help clean the house.

Alice went to her room, and closed the door behind her. She flung her bag in the corner, and went over to her stereo. She turned on the radio, and flopped onto her bed. She was only there for a few seconds when there was a small tap on her window. She sat up, and looked at her window, wondering what made the sound. A few seconds later, she saw a small pebble hit her window. She got up, and opened her window. Warren was standing outside on the front lawn. "What are you doing?" she asked, hoping her parents wouldn't hear her.

"You forgot something at my house." He called up too her. "Come down her so I can give it to you."

Alice smiled, and began to climb out her window. She slid along the side of the house, and climbed down the drainpipe. The drainpipe ended about 5ft above the ground, so she jumped the rest of the way down. She turned to Warren and tucked her hair behind her ear. "So what did I forget?"

He stepped closer to her. "This." He said, and he leaned down and kissed her. The two of them shared a long passionate kiss before Alice pulled away.

"Warren, stop." She said, backing against the side of the house. "We really shouldn't do this."

"Why not?" He asked. "We both have feelings for each other."

"Because Warren! I'm your tutor! You won't stay on subject when we're trying to work, and what if something happens between us? You'll skip your sessions again and be held back."

"That's not going to happen Alice. I'm still going to work just as hard as I have been."

"What if my dad finds out?" Alice said. There were tears in her eyes as she was saying this. Warren didn't know what to say. "What then? You know that he won't approve of this." There was a silence after she said this.

"Come here." He said, holding out his arms. He hugged her as she came over to him. "What happens between us has nothing to do with your father. The only people it concerns is us." He kissed her forehead. "If we do end up together, and your dad does find out, I promise that nothing bad will happen."

Alice's grip on him tightened as she herd these words. She wanted to believe him. He pulled back a little and lifted up her chin. "You're going to be alright." He told her, wiping a tear from her cheek. She nodded and tried to smile. He leaned over and kissed her again. She felt the warmth of his body against hers, and the pressure of his lips as they shared a passionate kiss. She loved the way that she felt when she was with him. She had never felt like this before, and she never wanted it to end. They pulled away from their kiss and gazed at each other for a moment.

"I should go back inside before they realize I'm gone." She said.

"Yeah." He agreed. "He back up and looked at the ground. "By the way, What's with the mess in your front yard?"

Alice laughed. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow. I have to go." She Jumped and grabbed hold of a tree branch. She swung herself up and around the branch. She swung from the branch to the pipe and climbed up into her room.

"Goodnight." He called up to her when she turned back towards the window.

"Goodnight." She called back to him. She watched as he walked away, and closed the window. She lay back down on her bed, and fell sleep in one of the best moods she's had in a long time.

**SO! That's the story so far. I'm already ½ way through the next chapter (although I'm not sure what it's called yet). I'm hoping to either post that one later or tomorrow, so keep checking back!**

**Next Chapter: TBA**


	12. Open Your Eyes

**Hello again! I hope you all are enjoying the story. I know that I'm have a good time writing it. Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it!**

Alice sat in the lunch room, munching on popcorn. She was writing an article for next week's issue of the paper. She wondered who she could pawn the Homecoming article onto since she didn't plan on going.

"Hey there stranger." Said Warren, sitting down next to her, he put his tray down and leaned over to see what she was writing. "Another article? You work way to hard on that paper."

"I do not." She said. She finished writing her sentence and put down her pencil. "Do you know anyone I could get to write the homecoming article?"

"Why can't you write it?" He asked, mouth half full of salad.

"Because I'm not going to homecoming. I don't see the point in dressing up to go stand against the wall of the cafeteria while everyone else dances." She said, starting to get a bit annoyed with Warren.

"Well the way I see it, we can go, watch everyone make fools of themselves, and leave before anyone tries to socialize with us. That way you and write the front page article and not have to hand it off to someone you know will suck at it."

"Warren Peace! Are you asking me to homecoming?" she said, in a teasing voice.

"Depends, are you going to say yes?"

"I guess I could go, but as soon as I get enough information, we're leaving. I don't want to spend hours sitting around that place."

"No problem." He said, picking up his empty tray.

"Hey, are you working tonight?"

"Yeah, I am. I get home after closing tonight too. We can work more on the project tomorrow." He got up stood up and swung his bag over his shoulder. "I'll call you when I get home." He said, and kissed her on the cheek before leaving for his locker. Alice turned back to her article and continued writing. After about 30 seconds, she stopped writing. _Shit!_ She thought to herself. _My parents are going to be there. _She let out a small moan as she though of how her father would respond to Warren. The sound of the bell echoed throughout the cafeteria, warning the start of the next class. Alice gathered her stuff and headed off to class. She would have to deal with this later.



Warren piled the half empty water glasses onto his tray, and took out his table rag. He hated working at the Chinese restaurant, but he needed the money. His mom was never home, and she didn't leave much. He finished wiping down the table and walked over to one of the booths on the side. Will was sitting there by himself, trying to reach Layla on his cell phone. "You get stood up?" Warren asked as Will hung up his phone.

"After what happened last night, I wouldn't be surprised if anyone of my friends never wanted to talk to me again." He said, playing with the antenna of his cell phone. "It wasn't even worth it, considering that I told Gwen that I'm not going to homecoming."

"You're not going?" Warren asked a bit confused. He put his tray down on the table and sat across from Will.

"Why bother. It's not like anyone wants me to be there."

"Layla would want you to be there." Warren said.

"Why? She's going with you."

Warren glared at him for a moment. "Come here. I need to tell you something." He gestured to Will to come closer, and they both leaned in over the table. When Will got about 2 inches from Warren's face, Warren reached his hand over and smacked Will on the back of the head. "I'm not going to Homecoming with Layla you idiot! She likes you!" he said, rather loudly into Will's ear.

"Ow! What the hell are you talking about?" Will said pulling away from Warren.

"Are you dense? The only reason that she asked me to Homecoming in the first place was to make you jealous." He said, in a calmer voice.

"Then why aren't you going to homecoming with her anymore?" Will asked, a bit curious.

"Don't change the subject! You need to talk to her. She loves you Will, and I don't know if it's cause your blind, stupid, or both, but you really need to work things out with her." Warren was talking in a very serious voice. "You're going to lose her if you don't."

"I know." Will said, looking at his cell phone. "I was hoping that she would meet me here tonight, but she won't even look at me."

"Try harder."

"Why do you even care?" asked Will.

"One, cause if no one told you, you probably would have screwed this whole thing up, and tow, your sister is hoping to have the house to herself while you and your parent are still at homecoming." Warren said

"You know that Alice is my sister? She tries so hard to keep it a secret though."

"There are a lot of things about your sister that I know." Said Warren, getting up from the table.

"Wait a minute…Are you taking Alice to homecoming?" asked Will, a bit shocked.

"We're only going long enough so that she can get her article for the paper, then we're leaving." Warren said, trying to get away. "I have to get back to work now."

"Have fun." Will said, now in a better mood.

"Oh and one last thing." Said Warren turning back to Will. He Grabbed Will by his collar and said, "If you tell anyone I will kill you. Got it?"

"Got it!" said Will, a bit frightened.

"Good." Warren let go of Will and went back to work. _I shouldn't have mentioned his sister, _he kept thinking.



Alice sat at the kitchen table, doing her chemistry homework. She herd the front door open and close, and the sound of footsteps enter the kitchen. She looked up to see Will in good spirits. "You're in a good mood. Make up with Layla?" She asked, finishing one of her equations.

"Nope. I bumped into your homecoming date though." He said, sitting down across from her.

"Excuse me?" she said, putting her pencil down.

"You know! Tall guy? Throws fire? Wears a lot of black?"

"Who told you?" she asked, a bit upset.

"He did. I don't think he meant to though."

"Please don't tell mom and dad!" begged Alice "I don't want them to know."

"Mom and dad are going to find out at the dance you know."

"Mom and dad are going to find out what at the dance?" asked a voice from the kitchen door. Alice turned around to see her parents standing there.

"Alice has a date for homecoming." Said Will in a teasing voice.

"Will!" Alice remarked, hitting his arm. "Shut up!"

"A date!" said her mom, all excited. "Who is he? Is he cute? What's he like."

_Oh great. _Alice thought, _She's going to do that mom thing now…_"It's just some guy from school mom, it's no big deal." Alice said, gathering up her things.

"Of course it's a big deal!" her father said, leaning against the counter. "You don't exactly bring boys home every week. What's his name?"

"Warren." Alice said, stuffing everything into her bag.

"Warren _Peace._" Will said in a teasing voice.

"What?" her dad said, a little shocked

"Dad don't make a big deal of this!" She said quickly. "He's a nice guy."

"He's the kid the beat up your brother!" he snapped at her

"Stop it dad!"

"He's the son of my arch enemy! He's evil! Alice-"

"HE'S NOT HIS FATHER!" there was a silence around the kitchen. "Why can't anybody see that? Everyone judges him by what his father did. He's a nice guy, and he's nothing like his father." Tears streamed down Alice's eyes as she said these words. She couldn't believe how judgmental her family was being. She grabbed her bag and ran up to her room. She slammed the door behind her, and collapsed onto her bed. She lay there crying for hours until she fell asleep of exhaustion.

**So yeah. That's the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. There's about 2-3 more chapters left of the story, so stay tuned for more!**

**The next chapter explains more about Alice and her father's relationship. I'll try to get it up as soon as I can because I know a lot of you have been looking forward to that. Please R & R!**

**The next chapter: Blast from the Past**


	13. Blast from the Past Pt1

**Hello! I have another chapter done! This one should explain a bit more about what happened that started the tension between Alice and her father. It will be explained a little more in the next chapter as well. Hope you enjoy it!**

An explosion came from the basement of the Stronghold house. "Eureka!" Called the voice of a young Steve Stronghold. Alice, no older then 3, sat at the kitchen table coloring with her crayons. A very pregnant Josie Stronghold stood at the kitchen counter cutting vegetables for dinner.

"It sounds like your father had a breakthrough." Alice's mother said to her. Alice laughed as her father came into the room covered in soot. His hair was sticking straight up in the air. He went over to his wife and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "It's done!" he said, extremely excited. He turned around to Alice and picked her up. She laughed as he spun her around in the air. "Do you want to see what I've been working on for all this time?" he asked her. Alice nodded, and gave her father a big toothy smile. "Great!" he said, and put her down on the floor. He turned back to go downstairs, and Alice ran right behind him.

"Slow down Alice!" her mother called after her, following the two down into the basement. There was a giant ray gun sitting on the workbench.

"What is it daddy?" Alice asked, jumping up and down, trying to get a good look at it. Steve picked her up and put her on the table next to it.

"It's my new ray gun. I'm going to use it to defeat my arch enemy, Baron Battle." Steve said, looking at his ray gun with some great pride. It looked a lot like a giant super soaker, only the liquid inside of the tank was bubbling. While Alice's parents were talking over on the other side of the basement, she stood up and got a closer look at the ray gun. The cap to the top of the ray gun was off. _I should close this for daddy so the stuff doesn't spill out!_ She thought to herself. As she reached over for the cap, she dropped the red crayon she was still holding into the bubbling mixture. She quickly turned to see if her dad had seen. He didn't seem to notice at all. She quickly put the cover on the gun and got down off of the work bench. She went over to where her parents were standing. She looked back over at the ray gun. It was bubbling even more, and there was a light going off on the side of it. There was a sound of an alarm and Steve looked over at the ray gun. "Quickly!" he said, grabbing both Alice and her mother, "Over here!" He pulled the two of them around the corner of the basement, just in time for them to dodge the fire of the exploding ray gun.

"Are you two alright?" Steve asked, looking Alice and Josie over..

"We're fine." Josie said. Steve nodded and went over to the destroyed work area.

"I don't know what went wrong." Steve said, kicking around the rubble. He went over to where the workbench once was, and found a pile of red wax. "Alice?" he called, getting a closer look at the wax. "Did you put a crayon in daddy's ray gun?" Alice hid behind her mother's leg.

"It was an accident. I'm sorry. I was only trying to help by putting the cap on, and I accidentally dropped the crayon in. I'm sorry daddy, please don't be mad."

Steve was very quiet for a moment, and then he spoke in a very calm voice. "I have been working on this ray gun for months." He said, his voice slowly getting louder. "It was the key to defeating Baron Battle, and now it's gone. Not only that, But you could have killed us all!" he said, now yelling.

"I'm sorry! It was an accident!" Alice said, in tears. She had never seen her dad upset before.

"Steven calm down. She's only a child. It's not like she meant for it to happen!"

"She almost got us killed Josie!" he yelled.

"I'm sorry!" Alice yelled, running up the stairs.

After that, her father spent 3 months cleaning up the basement. It would be 4 years before he defeated Baron Battle and put him in jail. He never truly forgave Alice for what had happened that day in the lab.



Alice awoke from the nightmare in a cold sweat. Tears were streaming down her eyes. She felt as though she was going to throw up. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked at the clock. It was 11:30. She fell back onto her bed and tried to calm herself. She hadn't had that dream in a long time. She hated remembering that day. She felt guilty that she broke her dad's ray gun. She knew how much it meant to him to catch Baron Battle before Will was born. He wanted Will to come into the world at a time where he didn't have to focus on crime fighting all the time.

Alice sat back up when she hard a tap on her window. She wiped the rest of the tears from her face, and went over to the window. Warren was outside, gesturing for her to come down. She took a deep breath and climbed down the side of the house.

"What's wrong?" he asked, when he saw her. "You look like you have been crying. Is everything alright?"

"Will told my father that we're going to homecoming." She said, half asleep. She was still a little drowsy from earlier.

"Aw Alice, I'm sorry. It just slipped out earlier. I didn't think he would tell your dad." He said, giving her a hug.

"It's not your fault." She said. "They would have found out at the dance tomorrow anyways."

Warren pulled away a little bit and lifted her chin so that he could get a better look at her face. "Did he hurt you?" He asked, worried that Alice had been hit again.

"No." she said. "Not physically at least." She sat down on the ground, and leaned against the house.

"Do you want to bail on the whole homecoming thing?" he asked, sitting down next to her. "It's not too late to say no."

"No. I don't want to give my dad the pleasure of winning that battle. He needs to see past this whole kids are like their parents thing."

"You dad thinks that I'm like my father?" Warren asked, a bit confused.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that. I don't know what's wrong with him. He usually isn't like that."

"It's not your fault." Warren said, leaning his head back against the house. He turned his head over to her and gave her a small nudge. "Are you going to be alright?"

Alice gave him a small smile, and nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine." Warren stood back up, and then helped Alice get up.

"Good." he said. "I should go now though. I just wanted to check in on you." He leaned in and kissed her. "I'll see you in the morning." Alice nodded, and turned to go back inside. "Goodnight." He called after her, as she climbed up the tree.

"Goodnight." She said, and she climbed the rest of the way up into her room. Warren stayed just long enough to make sure that Alice got into her room ok, and then he went on his way. Alice closed her bedroom window, and went back to bed. She hoped that she wouldn't have anymore nightmares tonight.



Alice sat under a tee in front of the school. Her last class had gotten out early, and she was waiting for the bus arrive. She was finishing the last of her homeowrk when Warren came over to where she was."Hey." he siad, sitting next to her. "We got an A on our project."

"Cool." She said, half concentrating on her work. She was trying not to think about wat happened the night before.

"Are you still up to going to Homecoming? We can still stay home. We can rent a move, make some popcorn." He was worried aobut her. He didn't want her to go if she didn't want to.

"I still want to go." She said, closing her book. "We can do the movie thing after if you want. It's not like we're staying the whole time." Alice put her books in her bag just in time to see the bus pull up. The both of them stood up, and walked over to the bus.

"So we'll meet there?" he asked.

"Yeah. " She said. "I'll see you tonight." They shared a kiss,and the went to their usal seats on the bus. Alice felt a bit uneasy about going to homecoming, but she still wanted to go. She hoped that nothing bad would happen when Warren and her father saw eachother.

**Ok I lied….NOW there is only 2-3 chapters left. I don't know how long the next chapters will be. I think I'm going to split homecoming into two chapters and then have a chapter that ties up all the lose ends. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please R&R!**

**The next chapter: Blast from the Past Pt.2**


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